TIVERTON — A proposal to charge town residents $10 for a season pass to the town’s two beaches failed on a tie vote, with half the town council saying the revenue would help with maintenance and upgrades at the beaches and half saying residents already pay for the beaches through taxes and they shouldn’t have to pay any more.
The 3-3 vote Friday night, at a meeting that was initially scheduled for last Tuesday, killed the proposal. Councilman Stephen Clarke was absent from the first part of the meeting when the vote was taken.
The Recreation Commission proposed the fee that, if approved, would have allowed the town to charge other Rhode Islanders to park at the recently-upgraded Grinnell’s Beach. Because the state gave the town funds for the rehabilitation of the beach and adjacent Stone Bridge abutment, residents of other cities and towns in Rhode Island would only have to pay to park at the beach if Tiverton residents were also charged a fee, according to provisions of the grant agreement. Out-of-state residents would continue to pay whatever rate the town set for Grinnell’s and Fogland beaches.
Council Vice President Denise deMedeiros said she doesn’t think many people from other Rhode Island cities and towns go to Grinnell’s; most of the visitors are from Massachusetts.
Recreation Commission Chairman Stuart Gilfillen said the commission has no other way to raise funds except to charge for parking.
“I’m not necessarily opposed to this,” said Councilman John Edwards V. “Our goal should be to drive enough revenue so it’s net neutral,” he said of parking fees covering the costs of operating the beaches.
Gilfillen said he did not know if all costs would be covered by the proposed parking fees.
“We operate the beaches at a loss,” said Council President Patricia Hilton. A $10 fee is “reasonable,” she said, and much less than most other communities charge their residents for season passes. She also said many people try to “skirt the rules” by insisting they are town residents. She knows from personal experience when she volunteered at the gate that people will try to use a cousin’s electric bill to prove they are a resident. One man pulled an old Rhode Island license plate from under the seat of his car that had out-of-state plates, she said of some “really aggressive adults haranguing attendants.”
The proposal, Gilfillen said, was to have Tiverton residents pay a $10 seasonal fee and charge Rhode Island residents a $10 entry fee for a weekday and $15 for a weekend. Out-of-state residents would pay $15 for a weekday and $20 for a weekend.
Gilfillen provided the council with a chart showing what other towns charge their residents for a season pass. Newport charges $50; Middletown, $70; Little Compton, $175; Jamestown, $15; Charlestown $50; and Barrington, $30. Bristol charges $10; Portsmouth is free.
“We need some sort of income to maintain the beach,” said Councilman Joseph Perry. “We wouldn’t be burdening the taxpayers by charging a $10 fee.”
Perry was in favor of having the money put into a dedicated account because the Recreation Commission never gets the money it requests every year, he said. “It’s a way for the beaches to be properly maintained.”
But deMedeiros said it would be bad precedent to start that practice. All revenue is supposed to go into the town’s General Fund.
DeMedeiros, Donna Cook and Nancy Driggs voted against charging residents $10 for a season pass. Perry, Hilton and Edwards were in favor.